Lived Experience Forum

[KAn1]

Hi there,

I have experienced lifelong schizophrenia, but wasn't able to identify it until recently because for some reason my parents seemed to act like the things I was experiencing were real.

As a result I experienced a lot of trauma from my hallucinations and lost a great deal of sensation in my body as a result, which is not the be all and end all but it is pretty significant and something I'm constantly dealing with.

I have achieved a lot in my life but I have been hindered time and time again by this disgusting mental condition.

Please let me know if you have any advice for dealing with hallucinations especially hallucinations that involve the real people who are actually present with you at the time.

Thanks,

KAn1

[Former-Member]

Hi @KAn1 🌼

I'm sorry to hear about all the trauma that's been caused by your hallucinations 

You might get plenty of helpful responses here, but I also wanted to flag- if you weren't aware- that this discussion will be happening on Tuesday and I think this would be a great question to ask there as well! Or if you're unable to make it, we can ask the question on your behalf, and the thread will be available for you to see later  Topic Tuesday // Let's talk about Schizophrenia // Tues 25th May, 7:00-8:30PM AEST 

[Judi9877]

Hi @KAn1 . Welcome to the forums. It's great to meet you! I am a Community Guide here and I also have schizophrenia as one of my mental health conditions so you definitely aren't alone there. I experience auditory hallucinations where I think I'm hearing things or noises or people and that can make me quite distressed at times. It usually happens when I'm stressed or have forgotten to take my medications.
As for your hallucinations experiences with real people, I think the best advice I've been given is to accept the hallucinations but not buy into them - by that I mean accept that they are there but also remind yourself that they aren't real and that you are in charge. You can decide to either ignore them or get involved. I have learnt to accept my hallucinations as not being real but there are times when I ask my housemate or sister if they heard the noise just to be sure. If they haven't heard it, then I know it's my mind playing games and to do something about it like write down what I heard or do a distraction technique like have a warm shower for example. Anything go to take my mind off what has happened. The worst case is for me is I'll call out for help via a helpline in my state and get advice from there. 

I hope this helps. Take care and I look forward to seeing you around the forums.

Judi9877